Mating, blood feeding, and oviposition of Simulium damnosum Theobald in the laboratory.

The development of suitable techniques for colonizing the vectors of human onchocerciasis in the laboratory would facilitate critical studies on many aspects of their biology. Progress towards this end, however, has until now been prevented by the fact that no African simuliid had been induced to mate in captivity. The main vector of human onchocerciasis in Africa is Simulium damnosum, which exists in a number of different forms, some but not all of which bite man. During the present investigations one form of S. damnosum, the "Kibwezi" form, was successfully induced to mate, to blood-feed, and to lay viable eggs in the laboratory. The methods described should be tested on other forms of S. damnosum, especially the anthropophilic forms responsible for the transmission of Onchocerca volvulus.